


The Two of Us Will Meet at Qiongqi Path

by Laffy_Taffy



Category: Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, MDZS, Mo Dao Zu Shi, 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Genre: Burial Mounds, Lan Wangji - Freeform, Lan Wangji goes with Wei Wuxian to the Burial Mounds, M/M, Wen Sect, Wèi Wúxiàn - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:48:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26720074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laffy_Taffy/pseuds/Laffy_Taffy
Summary: In another world, Lan Wangji never would have let Wei Wuxian leave Qiongqi Path.In another world, Lan Wangji might have let Wei Wuxian go, watching the only person he'd ever considered his equal ride off on a horse into the the rainstorm, the Burial Mounds, the vast unknown, with the knowledge that the next time they would meet, they would be on opposite sides of the war.But he wasn't living in those worlds.He dropped his umbrella and looked up at Wei Wuxian, in his sad eyes, and in his quiet voice, practically drowning in the water tumbling from the sky around him, said, "Take me with you."
Relationships: Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji
Comments: 15
Kudos: 144





	1. Chapter 1

In another world, Lan Wangji never would have let Wei Wuxian leave Qiongqi Path. In another world, Lan Wangji might have let Wei Wuxian go, watching the only person he'd ever considered his equal ride off on a horse into the the rainstorm, the Burial Mounds, the vast unknown, with the knowledge that the next time they would meet, they would be on opposite sides of the war. 

  
But he wasn't living in those worlds. He was living in this one. He knew what he had to do.

He dropped his umbrella into the newly formed mud seeping into his shoes and looked up at Wei Wuxian, in his sad eyes, and in his quiet voice, practically drowning in the water tumbling from the sky around him, said, "Take me with you."

Wei Wuxian stared at him in shock. He'd obviously expected that Lan Wangji would want to fight him--he always got that wrong about Lan Wangji, who never wanted to fight, who only wanted to be left alone in peace and quiet with his beautiful guqin and calligraphy. In an instant, the shock turned to defensiveness, and Wei Wuxian's face hardened. That very motion--his brows furrowing, his forehead creasing, his eyes hardening with hatred--made Lan Wangji's heart shatter upon seeing it. It was a good thing that it was raining that day. Wei Wuxian would not be able to see his tears amid the falling droplets.

"Why should I?" Wei Wuxian screamed. "You'll just turn me in to the Lan Sect! You'll make everyone go back to those awful places! You'll let them kill me!"

"I won't," Lan Wangji shook his head quietly. "Please, let me go with you. If not as your equal, then... as your prisoner."

Lan Wangji took his sword from his waist and dropped it at the feet of Wei Wuxian's horse. That look of shock came back, and although it hurt Lan Wangji to see such an expression on his face, it was not nearly as bad as the awful one that had come before. He looked like he didn't know what to do, a face that was always so sure had become so conflicted with the chaos of the world around him. Lan Wangji raised his hand to seal his own powers, to try to get him to trust him, but Wen Qing's voice broke through their thundersome silence.

"Take him, Wei Wuxian!" Wen Qing said, caressing her brother's lifeless corpse. "Please, for the love of everything you hold dear, take it and be done with it! They're coming after us, don't you see?"

Wei Wuxian turned back to Lan Wangji and nodded. Lan Wangji rushed to the horse's side and got onto it, wrapping his arms around Wei Wuxain's torso. Wei Wuxian turned his head back, just slightly to look at Lan Wangji and snarled.

"You're lucky I'm not killing you."

Lan Wangi pressed his forehead into Wei Wuxian's back, trying to find the breath that he had lost way back before the war had begun, back when he had first seen Wei Wuxian in the Cloud Recesses.

"Please," Lan Wangji whispered. "Just go."


	2. Chapter 2

When they reached the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian got off of the horse and began ordering everyone else about, telling them to stick together and not wander away. Lan Wangji slowly pulled himself off of its back and touched down on the ground beside him, taking in a deep and shaky breath of air. The storm had subsided, and yet he could still feel its intense impact upon him, and he could do nothing but grip his white robes and try to pull them tightly around his torso, masking his fear and fatigue underneath his usually cool, expressionless exterior. Internally, though, he could hardly pay any heed to what Wei Wuxian was saying.

Brother... Lan Xichen wouldn't kill him for this, but his uncle surely would. If there had been one rule they'd always adhered to, it was to never trust the wicked. To the people of the Gusu Lan Sect, Wei Wuxian was as rotton as they came. Why in the world was he helping such a fiend? He couldn't be doing it because they were friends, not with how Wei Wuxian treated him in their school days. It had to be because of something else, some instinctual urge to survive, because he knew that if Wei Wuxain had been caught--or hadn't had the right people with him--he would have perished where he stood. Somebody would've found him and killed him. He needed Lan Wangji to survive. It wasn't because Lan Wangji liked him... but then why was there this fluttering beat in his heart, as though it was attempting to burst from the cages that were his ribs, puncturing his chest, and soar away. Why did he feel such horrible, terrifying things when he was around Wei Wuxian if it was just for survival?

"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian muttered, giving him a mere glance. "Are you coming with us?"

Lan Wangji looked up, realizing that he was meant to go on ahead with Wei Wuxian. He nodded and moved to go through the pathway to the Burial Mounds, but Wei Wuxian stopped him, pressing his hand against Lan Wangji's chest to keep him from advancing anymore. Lan Wangji looked up at him, in surprise, although Wei Wuxian would surely take it as indignance. 

"What are you doing?" Lan Wangji said. 

"I could ask you the same question," Wei Wuxian said. "It's not everyday one of the Twin Jades decides to assist me in one of my plans. And I know you've always regarded me as someone whose company should not be sought. So, why? Why did you insist on coming with us?"

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian as though he knew why, even though he could hardly fathom itself. A confused look spread across Wei Wuxian's face and he faltered, taking a step back. Lan Wangji looked down at the ground as Wei Wuxian cleared his throat, and told everyone to follow him. In one strong hand, Wei Wuxian grabbed Lan Wangji's wrist and began to pull him along, into the darkness, as the others followed closely behind. Lan Wangji kept up with him as well as he could, but even in their youth, Wei Wuxian had always been the one to walk faster. As they walked, though, Wei Wuxian spoke to him, softly and slowly.

"I don't believe you for a minute," Wei Wuxian whispered. When Lan Wangji looked at him quizzically, Wei Wuxian snarled. "About wanting to come with us. I think you just want to kill us all."

Lan Wangji shook his head. "You don't know me then."

"I do know you," Wei Wuxian said. "You'd never let anyone capture you. And yet, you're telling me that you'd willingly lay down your sword? What are you planning."

Lan Wangji closed his eyes, and didn't answer. Somehow, he knew what to say. But, like with everything else, he couldn't bring himself to do so. The words caught in his throat, choking him, and he could only swallow them and pretend that they had never existed in the first place.

_I would willingly give my life for yours._ _Laying down my sword is nothing compared to what I would do for you._


	3. Chapter 3

The more Lan Wangji looked at the Burial Mounds, the more sorrowfully his heart sank into his stomach with the thought that Wei Wuxian had spent months here without his knowledge, that the Wens had done this to him, made him the monster that everyone thought that he was. And now, he was going back with them, to live out the rest of his days in peace and solitude, or as much as the outside world would give him. Lan Wangji wished that this was all a horrible dream, that he'd wake up any minute in a place where the Sunshot Campaign had never taken place, where Wei Wuxian had not fallen into this dismal pit of despair. He wanted to go back to a time when that smile--the smile that he once loathed--would appear back on the young man's face. It was much better than that grim forbearance, a patience that could turn to swift action and death in just a moment.

The more he looked at his dark surroundings, the more Lan Wangji felt them pulling at his gut, taking hold of him. He could almost hear whispers calling to him from the trees, voices of the dead inviting him to join them. If he listened hard enough, he could hear the faint screaming of all the souls that the Wens had slaughtered. And yet, there was not a body in sight. There was no source of the infernal power taunting him, making him helpless against the sea of anguish. He couldn't help them, especially not while he was being pulled along this fast. He couldn't help them.

"Stop inviting them," Wei Wuxian said, his voice cutting through Lan Wangji's thoughts like a knife. Lan Wangji turned to look at his serious visage in confusion. "The more you pay attention to them, the stronger their powers are over you. If you want to live in this place, then you must ignore them. Keep in mind, Lan Zhan, that there is still time to turn back."

The more Lan Wangji looked, the more the spirits called to him. So he merely turned his gaze down, watching Wei Wuxian's shoes, and focused on those as they walked through the dreadful night. 


	4. Chapter 4

When Wei Wuxian stopped and told everyone that the place they were standing in would be where they would live for now on, Lan Wangji nearly fainted dead away. He'd known that Wei Wuxian had lived in such a place for months after the Wens had thrown him into it, but he hadn't imagined that it would be this barren, this ugly of a landscape. Although he couldn't hear or see the spirits or bodies here, it still unnerved him to no end, demonic energy radiating around him, trying to choke him to death with its vile eminence. How could anyone tolerate a place like this? It was so overwhelming that it made him want to go home. He missed Gusu so very much. Just being here made him homesick. He wanted to see his brother. He even wanted to see his stubborn old goat of an uncle. This place was so horrid!

But, no, he couldn't leave. He couldn't leave Wei Wuxian here by himself. That was asking for disaster. He couldn't do it. He'd stay as long as Wei Wuxian needed him. And, perhaps, he'd sway him from the demonic path. Perhaps he'd pull him away from a life of demons and sin, back to the normal cultivation world, and seek forgiveness with the other clans. 

He didn't think that it would happen, but he had to try.

Wei Wuxian was barely his friend, but he was one of the only friends that Lan Wangji had. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating yesterday and that this chapter is so short--I had to get blood drawn and I fainted, so I didn't feel focused enough to write. I'm still really exhausted, but I should bounce back in a couple of days.   
> Next week, I will be on fall break, and might get an opportunity to write more. If you have any plot points (romantic, preferably) that you want to see in this fanfic, please let me know, and I will try to fit it into the story.


	5. Chapter 5

For the rest of that night, Lan Wangji was kept tucked away in one of the caves nearby while Wei Wuxian allocated everyone to their rooms, telling them all about how their new lives would be much better than what they knew before, but he could hardly believe it from the inflection of his voice. Wei Wuxian didn't show it very much, but he was terrified. Lan Wangji hadn't heard it that much. There'd been a lingering sense of it when they'd nearly died together with the Tortoise of Slaughter, but not enough for Lan Wangji to fully confirm it. He was usually so good at hiding his emotions behind that wide smile, just like Lan Wangji hid his behind his stern visage. Now, though... now he could see it a lot more clearly.

Even if Wei Wuxian didn't want him to be there, Lan Wangji decided to help him in whatever way he could. He'd summoned his guqin and played the song that he'd been writing, the one that he'd played for Wei Wuxian during that intense and insane encounter that they'd endured together. He still didn't know what to call it. Well, he did, but it was embarrassing, and he wanted to come up with a better name for it before Wei Wuxian asked again.

Wangxian. Why hadn't he said something else? Why had that specific word come to his mind? It must've been because he'd thought the two of them would die together. That was the only explanation for it. Unless...

Even the lyrics he was attributing to it reminding him of Wei Ying.

_As the guqin strums on, flute notes fade slowly away,_

_Time can not be outdone, we can't stay._

_If I gave you my life, would you please just glance my way?_

_Nothing is--_

Lan Wangji felt someone looking at him and immediately stopped, embarrassed that anyone would be spying on him. He turned to see Wei Wuxian standing in the mouth of the cave, staring at him with a tired and sorrowful gaze. Lan Wangji quickly put away his guqin and stood up, looking at him expectantly. He hardly knew what to say at all, but that didn't matter. Wei Wuxain was always so loquacious. He'd come up with something.

"You're still playing that song?" Wei Wuxian smiled.

"Mm."

"What's it called?" Wei Wuxain whispered. Lan Wangji turned his head away, refusing to answer. "I hope you'd tell me someday."

"Maybe."

Wei Wuxian crossed his arms, a seriousness replacing the soft gaze that had momentarily overcome him. "Now, Lan Zhan. You really should tell me what you're doing. It's not like you to be this insane."

Lan Wangji could feel his voice trapped in his throat, and yet he tried to force it out anyway. Wei Wuxian thought he was insane. "Wei Ying--"

"Why are you here?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted it to rhyme, so I used Robyn Ardery's version of XianYun. If you want to listen to it, here is the link:  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El2y_PYQt60


	6. Chapter 6

Lan Wangji looked at Wei Wuxian with uncertainty, shaking his head. "I don't know."

"It doesn't sound like you," Wei Wuxian whispered. "The great Lan Wangji, steadfast and sure, losing his head in a moment and offering himself up to a demon. And for what? You have nothing to gain from these Wen Clan people, other than your complete and utter ruin. If you don't know why you're here, then go home. I'd rather you be there than get hurt being here with me."

"I don't mind," Lan Wangji said, this time very sure of himself. "I will stay here."

"Lan Wangji!" Wei Wuxian cried, although it didn't sound as exasperated as he'd been with the disciple before. In the past, there had been a gentle flirtatiousness turned to annoyance with the realization that his teasing advances would not be reciprocated, but this was not that. This was genuine, a Wei Wuxain that had never been exposed to anyone before, a secret life within him that nobody had divulged before. "Don't you know what you do by associating yourself with me?"

"I save you by doing it," Lan Wangji said, looking away from the despair on Wei Wuxian's face. "I will stay here."

Wei Wuxian looked down, but Lan Wangji had seen the tears filling his eyes even before the light hit them. It was a sort of defeat that Lan Wangji had never seen on him before, a deep shame. He took a step back and bowed to him graciously. He looked like a servant. "Your reputation comes first, and I come second. I will respect your wishes, Second Young Master Lan, and keep you here, but to all outside this place, you are my prisoner."

That was not what Lan Wangji wanted, but he knew it would have to come to that. That was why he made the offer in the first place.

"Of course, Wei Ying. Get some rest."

"I can't," Wei Wuxian whispered. "I have to revive Wen Ning. I know there is a way to do it somehow."

Before Lan Wangji could stop him, Wei Wuxain had disappeared, sunken back into the shadows of the night and become one with it, off to practice his demonic trade. Lan Wangji turned back to look at his guqin, feeling as though he had just stared directly at the sun relentlessly, his vision dancing with black spots. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had broken two rules of the Lan Sect. If he ever went back, he would surely be punished.

_Do not associate with evil._

_Do not work after 9 P.M._


	7. Chapter 7

When Lan Wangji awoke in the morning--much later than he usually did, which meant that there was another broken rule added to his mental tally--Wei Wuxian was in the cave with him. Lan Wangji quickly stood up, turning away so that the man in the dark robes would not see the dreary sleep in his eyes or the messiness of his robes. Rather than stay silent, Wei Wuxian laughed, as he always did. Lan Wangji always thought him quite cruel when he did that, and yet, he couldn't help but associate that very laugh with freedom. His freedom. Lan Wangji's freedom.

"Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian chided. "Still so obsessed with appearances, aren't you? I thought there was a rule in the Cloud Recesses that stated you shouldn't be too vain."

"Another says you should not be ill-dressed."

Wei Wuxian sighed. "So many contradictions. I wonder, sometimes, how you can keep track of all of them. So... do you want to read it?"

Lan Wangji turned to look at him in confusion. "Read what?"

"Your notice of capture," Wei Wuxian said with a smile, holding out a letter toward Lan Wangji. "I wrote it myself last night. You were right. They wouldn't have left us alone had you not offered yourself as a captive. They'll be much too scared to attack for fear of hurting you. Don't read too much into it, though. I portrayed myself as quite the monster, but all the reason for them to leave us alone. If they do anything to anger me, for all they know, I could kill you."

Lan Wangji raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't hurt a fly."

"How do you know?"

"Because they wouldn't dare hate you as much as they do if you were evil. They'd be kissing your shoes and begging you not to kill them. They'd worship you." Lan Wangji said, taking the letter from Wei Wuixan. He read it over quickly before nodding and handing it back to Wei Wuxian. "It's adequate. Your writing hasn't always been your academic strength, though."

Wei Wuxian lightly whacked Lan Wangji over the head with the piece of paper. "You'd know, wouldn't you?"

"Naturally."

Wei Wuxian huffed. "A prisoner shouldn't be so cheeky. I'll go send this off to Gusu and then wake the Wens. I'm hoping that we can get a farm started up here or something, so that they don't have to go down to the town too often. You can stay in here and do whatever you want. Maybe play that song you like so much. It's quite beautiful."

Before Lan Wangji could even hope to reply--although he was sure that the words would be caught in his throat again--Wei Wuxian had whisked out of the room, as though he were the mist being carried away by the wind. He let out a sigh and rubbed the fatigue from his eyes, silently wondering how he'd ever begun to think that his school rival, his biggest annoyance, had become the center of his life in the midst of a situation that could've meant death for everyone involved. 


	8. Chapter 8

Wei Wuxian had gone down the mountain after helping the Wens somewhat adjust to their current lives. Although Lan Wangji was sure that they didn't want to deal with him--sure that he shouldn't be a bother to them--he decided to emerge from his cave and see if he could help them just a little bit more. It was a difficult decision for him to make. He knew that they'd just gone through utter Hell and he knew that he wasn't the social butterfly that Wei Wuxian was, and that he'd probably just make it worse for them, but the right thing to do would be to, at the very least, attempt to establish himself as an agreeable ally for them to come to should they ever be in need. 

When he emerged from the darkness of the cave into the dim light outside, blocked by the winding trees, resentful energy, and clouds in the sky, he immediately felt something pull on his leg, trapping him in place. A chill rushed down his spine at the thought that one of the spirits in this area could have this much power, but upon looking down, he realized that he was being held in place by a little Wen boy, no more than two years of age. 

Despite the grime coated on his face, the boy was quite a handsome young creature. If he weren't in such a dire situation, Lan Wangji would have thought that he was the product of one of the four major sects (well, technically he was, although the sect had mostly died out). The child almost reminded him of the youth in Gusu, although this one seemed to be much more tenacious. It was like he and Wei Wuxian had been fused into one person. Wei Wuxian's playful energy and awe-struck eyes converged with Lan Wangji's facial structure and serene smile. If Wei Wuxian were here too, any observer would have thought that the child was their son.

Why was he thinking such things? This was silly!

"What are you doing?" Lan Wangji asked blankly.

The child giggled sweetly. "Papa!"

Oh dear...

"I'm not your father. Let go."

Perhaps he was a bit more rude than he intended to be. The child seemed suddenly frightened of him, tears filling his eyes, and even still, he would not let go of Lan Wangji's leg. Lan Wangji silently begged the universe not to let this happen to him--please, God--but nothing seemed to assuage the crying child. Where in the world were this child's real parents? His mother, his father? Surely, they--!  
  


"Lan Zhan! Looks like you've got yourself in a bit of a mess!"

Lan Wangji looked up in relief. "Wei Ying."


End file.
